GLOBALGAP has developed the Tilapia and Pangasius standards based on demand for sustainable sources, focusing on food safety, animal welfare, environmental protection and social risk assessment.

 

GLOBALGAP Aquaculture standards cover not only good aquaculture practices on the farm, but also enable the farmer to provide evidence that feed and seedlings entering the farm activities are also GLOBALGAP recognised.  Within this certification system, full segregation and traceability of certified products can be checked with its supporting Chain of Custody certification.

 

GLOBALGAP Tilapia and Pangasius draft standards were available for two public stakeholder consultations, each period of 60 days. Feedback from all over the world together with trial audits of the draft standards, supports applicability and audit-ability of the criteria. Trial audits were performed in Vietnam, China, the US, Costa Rica and Colombia by GLOBALGAP approved Certification Bodies for the Aquaculture scope.

Pangasius

 

Pangasius Standard development started in the main producing country - Vietnam. Supported by German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the working group presented a first draft proposal to GLOBALGAP. The draft Standard was subject to trial audits on six farms and stakeholder consultation. After a second round of stakeholder consultation and further trials, the Standard is now ready for certification.

 

"GLOBALGAP will contribute to the long-term security of the pangasius industry responding to the needs of global markets."

 

Tilapia

 

GLOBALGAP has participated in a comparison project of aquaculture standards on the field, coordinated by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership. This exercise has provided the opportunity to test out the draft Standard in different production systems (pond based, cage, closed recirculation and raceway systems). With the completion of the project and an open stakeholder consultation period, GLOBALGAP Tilapia Standard is now ready for certification.

 

GLOBALGAP FEED Standard

 

GLOBALGAP is also undertaking a revision of the current criteria of its Compound Feed Standard. Together with an open stakeholder consultation and field trials in different continents, the GLOBALGAP Feed Standard is expected to be ready for certification by the second half of 2009. This will cover aquaculture farm requirements of feed sourced into their operations.

 

GLOBALGAP is a private sector body that sets voluntary standards for the certification of agricultural products around the globe. The GLOBALGAP standard is primarily designed to reassure consumers about how food is produced on the farm by minimising detrimental environmental impacts of farming operations, reducing the use of chemical inputs and ensuring a responsible approach to worker health and safety as well as animal welfare.